I had bought a bunch of pretty yellow and red carrots at the farmers’ market and decided to use them in salads to best show off their colour. The tops were still vibrant and fresh looking and rather than doing the normal of throwing them in the bin I remembered Carl had twittered his recipe recently for carrot top ‘pesto’ here.
Made me think what I could make out of them equally quickly, it had to be a dairy-free recipe. I tasted the tops raw and they were bland but pleasant and my mind turned to some kind of fritter in order to keep the texture, keep the process simple and make it quick for lunch. I also figured there would be so many nutritional good points in the carrot tops they would balance out the naughtiness of frying.
After toying with the idea of adding another grated vegetable I opted instead along the lines of pataniscas which are a salt cod fritters. Pataniscas for me sit between being a fritter and a savoury pancake. They are extremely popular in Portugal made with shredded salt cod, onion, flour, eggs, parsley and a little milk.
What makes patanisca taste like patanisca apart from the taste of the cod is the texture, they’re soft as you bite into them just like an American style pancake but then the pieces of cod give it a chewy texture. That’s what I got here softness from the flour and eggs and then the texture from the carrot tops. I was also pleased heating up the carrot tops heighten their mild flavour.
The most difficult thing about this recipe was to wash the dirt off the tops, it seemed to really want to cling on to the leaves, it took me a good 3 washes to finally get rid of it.
Carrot Top “patasniscas”
I was keeping the recipe dairy-free but if you’re not use milk, you’ll need to add less as the oatly cream is thick, about 125-150 ml.
Next time making these I would add ground coriander to them or cumin or chopped chili to give them a spice kick.
- 1 small bunch of carrot top
- 4 medium size eggs
- 100g of plain flour
- 200-225ml of oatly cream (or milk but use less)
- Salt & pepper to taste
- vegetable oil for shallow frying
- I would try a teaspoon of any of the following: ground coriander / cumin / smoked paprika / chili / cardamon or a spice mix like baharat.
Add the oil to the pan when the oil is hot add dollop of the mixture using a large spoon, it will appear runny but as soon as it hits the hot fat it will solidify.
Don’t fry them too fierce because the egg mixture will go dark before the inside has a chance to cook through. When it appears to be ready turn them over, after about a minute there should be signs of being cooked underneath. If you find turning them over a little awkward I used two spoons.
Once cooked place them on kitchen paper towels to absorb any excess oil. Best eaten while warm.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Azelia – a great creative idea there
making the most of your purchases.
I’ll definitely give these a go, a great quick lunch idea.
Carl x
I would have never thought of the idea of using carrot tops until I saw your recipe Carl – good inspiration!